USC President C. L. Max Nikias was the 13th-highest compensated private university president in 2011, making nearly $1.4 million in total pay, while former UC President Mark G. Yudof was the eighth-best paid public education executive, according to an annual survey released Sunday. University of Chicago President Robert J. Zimmer made nearly $3.3 million, ranking him first among private college or university chiefs, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education, while ex-Penn State University President Graham Spanier was the highest paid public president, making $2.9 million during the 2012 fiscal year.

Florida-based Spirit Airlines has topped another unflattering ranking. A few weeks ago the U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund analyzed complaint rates among passengers over the last five years. The ultra-low-cost carrier came out on top of that list. Spirit now ranks at the top again - for the rudest flight attendants. A survey of 3,400 people by the travel website Airfarewatchdog found that 26% said Spirit has the rudest flight attendants. Air Canada came in second with 14%, followed by Frontier Airlines with 11% and Virgin America with 9%. Southwest Airlines was at the bottom of the list, with only 1%. The service given by flight attendants may reflect how they are treated by airlines, according to a flight attendants union.

Big financial institutions continue to foreclose on troubled borrowers in error -- either while a homeowner is awaiting a loan modification or because of fees incorrectly added to the seizure -- according to a national survey of attorneys representing borrowers. One intent of the recent $25-billion mortgage settlement among attorneys general, the nation's five largest mortgage servicers and certain federal agencies was to do away with such errors, but in recent weeks consumer advocates have raised concerns that borrowers who are in the foreclosure process may still be harmed.

WASHINGTON -- President Obama, on his way to a weeklong trip to Asia, is headed to Washington state Tuesday to survey damage from the landslide and meet with survivors, first responders and local officials one month after the tragedy. More than 40 people died in the disaster, which claimed more than two dozen homes on the outskirts of Oso, a small town an hour's drive from Seattle. The medical examiner's office is still working to identify victims of the devastation. The visit will be Obama's only domestic stop on his way to Asia, where he plans to talk about trade opportunities with foreign leaders and discuss the U.S. role in regional security.

Fewer companies offered health insurance last year, and the ones that did charged employees more for their coverage. That's among the major findings of in an annual California Employer Health Benefits Survey released Wednesday by the California HealthCare Foundation, a research and grant-making nonprofit organization. According to the survey, premiums for employer health insurance plans rose 153.5% since 2002, a rate that's more than five times the increase in California's inflation rate.

Although it's been more than two years since the market began a long rebound from its bear-market low, many individual investors remain extremely fearful of stocks. According to a survey released Wednesdayby Prudential Financial Inc., 58% of Americans say they've lost all faith in stocks, while 44% say they're unlikely to ever invest more money in the market. In one measure of what might be dubbed the New Trepidation, just 37% of investors say they're investing aggressively in stocks, down from 46% before the recession.

This year's college freshmen report feeling higher levels of emotional and financial stress than their predecessors did, according to a national survey conducted by UCLA researchers. The annual "American Freshman" report, released Thursday, showed that only about half of current first-year students, 51.9%, rated their emotional health above average or higher, down from 55.3% last year and the lowest since the question was first asked 25 years ago. Just 45.9% of women in the class described themselves as emotionally strong, compared with 59.1% of the men. In addition, nearly two-thirds of this year's freshmen, 62.1%, said the recession had affected their choice of college, and 73.4%, up from 70% last year, are depending on grants and scholarships to help them through.

A survey of Syrians, conducted in secret because of government prohibitions, shows strong dissatisfaction with prevailing political and economic conditions. Though that may not be a surprise, the fact that any kind of opinion poll could be conducted in Syria, was certainly an eye-opener, the study's authors say. "The most surprising result had nothing to do with survey findings, but rather the fact that you could get this data collected. People really wanted to talk," said lead author, Angela Hawken of Pepperdine University.

Not even typically liberal Hollywood is free of anti-gay bias, according to a new study. A survey of SAG-AFTRA members found that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender actors continue to face discrimination when looking for work, though opportunities are increasing. About a third of those who responded to the survey by UCLA's Williams Institute and the entertainment union said that directors, casting directors and producers may be biased against LGBT performers. The study , to which roughly 5,700 people responded, also said more than half of LGBT performers had heard anti-gay comments while on set. PHOTOS: Hollywood Backlot moments "Coming out remains a significant and consequential decision for many performers, and we are committed to supporting our members in living honest and authentic personal and professional lives,” said Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA's chief administrative officer and general counsel, in a statement.

In one episode of the sitcom “Seinfeld,” George Costanza tries to impress his girlfriend by joining a book club. The first book he has to read is “Breakfast at Tiffany's,” by Truman Capote. For George, the novella is a slog: “If it's not about sports, I find it very hard to concentrate,” he says. So he watches the movie adaptation of the novel instead. Most people, in turns out, have done something like that to try to look smarter than they really are, according to a new British survey of 2,000 people.

WASHINGTON - President Obama's health law has led to an even greater increase in health coverage than previously estimated, according to new Gallup survey data, which suggests that about 12 million previously uninsured Americans have gained coverage since last fall. That is millions more than Gallup found in March and suggests that as many as 4 million people have signed up for some kind of insurance in the last several weeks as the first enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act drew to a close.

Firefighters were still trying to determine Tuesday how much damage was caused by a fire that burned through San Pedro's Elks Lodge, a huge building that housed decades of organization history. “I'm sick about it, terribly sick,” said Kuzma Domanchich, 91, who joined the San Pedro Elks Lodge 52 years ago. “I'm here everyday for lunch and Sunday for brunch. Seeing this scene, it's a terrible loss.” The lodge - a 33,700-square-foot, two-story building with three tennis courts, an auditorium and Olympic-sized pool - was built in 1957 and sits on a bluff facing the ocean.

The fantasy of being a writer appeals to so many of us: sitting in a book-lined study crafting perfectly wrought sentences, which an illustrious publisher swiftly transforms into a bestselling book and an indelible literary legacy. Missing from that idealized image is - well, the reality. Most writers struggle and stumble at every stage. It's hard to start a manuscript and harder to finish it. Rejection is rampant. And finding a way to earn a living that allows time to write - that can be the toughest trick of all. The Times sent out a survey to authors participating in the Festival of Books with questions about their experience as writers and got more than 200 responses.

The cruise industry has suffered a series of calamities over the last two years or so that have continued to sink its already plummeting image. The bad publicity continued Tuesday when Princess Cruises announced that 37 people had fallen ill on a cruise along the California coast. In fact, Americans have a more favorable attitude about commercial air travel -- despite higher air fares and shrinking economy seats -- than cruising, according to an online survey of more than 2,000 adults by the Harris Poll.

WASHINGTON -- Small-business owners were more optimistic about the economy last month and expected sales to increase as a winter marked by severe weather ended, according to survey results released Tuesday. The confidence index from the National Federation of Independent Business rose to 93.4 in March, from 91.4 the previous month. The measure is one of the few monthly barometers of the small-business sector, which is a key driver of the economy. Last month's increase nearly reversed a drop in February, but the index, which can range from 80 to 110, remains historically low as the economic recovery struggles to gain traction.

Returning from a recent leisure trip to Miami, Jerry Jorgensen landed in Detroit only to face one of the biggest frustrations of air travel: His bag was nowhere to be found. After making several dozen calls, Jorgensen got American Airlines to return his bag. But the Michigan dairy farmer was not happy. The airline "passed me around on the phone like a hot potato," he said. The good news about lost luggage is that airlines worldwide eventually recover 97% of mishandled bags. That is one of 10 surprising facts about flying with luggage that came out of a new study by international air transport technology specialist SITA.

The "staycation" is not yet dead, but its popularity may be waning. The tendency to stay close to home for vacation - a trend that became popular during the Great Recession - is losing its appeal as more Americans become interested in having a good time when they travel. The findings are from a survey of 2,527 U.S. households by the marketing and research firms of MMGY Global and Harrison Group. The survey found that the average amount spent on vacations over the last 12 months has grown to $4,461, compared with $3,874 during the same period two years ago. "It's not like everyone's financial situation has improved, but people went through a series of three or four years of paring back on expenses," said Peter Yesawich, vice chairman of MMGY Global.

So much for the idea of West is best. In an annual survey, executives ranked California as the worst place to do business for the eighth year in a row. Chief Executive magazine has only been conducting its survey for eight years. Texas has been top-ranked every year. The survey considered responses from 650 business leaders, who graded states on factors such as taxes, regulations, living environment and more. Texas and second-ranked Florida have the highest migration rates in the nation for 2001 through 2009.

Mortgage rates leveled off early this week, with the average for a 30-year fixed loan at 4.41%, a smidge above the 4.4% recorded a week earlier, Freddie Mac said. Freddie's survey of what lenders are offering to solid borrowers, released Thursday, showed that the average rate for a 15-year fixed mortgage rose from 3.42% to 3.47%. The survey's margin of sampling error is 5 basis points, or 0.05 of a percentage point, according to Freddie Mac spokesman Chad Wandler, which means that from a practical viewpoint this week's results were unchanged.

The vast majority of fast-food workers in the U.S. say they've been the victims of wage theft, according to a survey released Tuesday. Out of 1,088 respondents nationwide, 89% said they have been forced to do off-the-books work, been denied breaks, been refused overtime pay or been placed in similarly unsavory circumstances. The same holds for 84% of McDonald's workers, 92% of Burger King employees and 82% of Wendy's rank and file, according to the survey, which was conducted by Hart Research for the Low Pay Is Not OK campaign.